California Special Election Poll Released

June 11, 2007 / 4:15 PM
/ The Politico

State Assemblywoman Laura Richardson holds a nine-point lead over state Sen. Jenny Oropeza for the special election to succeed the late Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.), according to a newly-released poll from the Richardson campaign.

Twenty-five percent of likely district voters said they would pick Richardson; 16 percent preferred Oropeza. A 35 percent plurality of voters said they didn’t yet know who they would vote for.

The poll has given the Richardson campaign some optimism amid concerns that the presence of two leading African-American candidates would split the black vote. Valerie Millender-McDonald, the late congresswoman’s daughter, is only polling at 7 percent in the poll.

Richardson is leading among all ethnic groups, except Hispanics. She trails Oropeza by 7 points among Hispanic voters. Among Democrats, Richardson leads Oropeza by a two-to-one margin.

The poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Maslin, Maullin & Associates, surveyed 400 likely voters in California’s 37th Congressional District between June 7 and 11. It has a 4.9 percent margin of error.